Tii-Maria Romar was named the RMISA Female Skier of the Year at the organization's Spring Conference on May 9 in Park City.

May 15, 2012

Two members of the University of Utah's ski team received awards at the annual Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Skiing Association Spring Conference in Park City, Utah, on May 9. The RMISA membership elected Tii-Maria Romar RMISA Female Skier of the year, while Head Alpine coach Jaka Korencan was named the RMISA Alpine Coach of the Year.

At the 2012 NCAA Championships, Romar finished 12th in the women's slalom during the last day of the meet. The Mustasaari, Finland finished her Utah career as a three-time All-American.

During the regular season, Romar was named the RMISA's Women's Alpine MVP after earning 525 out of a possible 550 points. She finished in the top 10 in all 11 regular-season races with top-four finishes in 10 of the 11 races. Romar had three wins and was equally impressive in both disciplines as she won one slalom and two GS races. She also earned two second places, one third place and four fourth-place finishes in those 10 races. Romar appeared on the podium a total of six times in the regular season.

"[Romar] has been a leader from day one on this team," Utah Director of Skiing Kevin Sweeney said. "Her consistency has been invaluable to our success. Not only have the points she has garnered added up, "Tiitu" has been 100% supportive in the development of her teammates. It is very nice when you see hard work, focus, determination and teamwork pay off like this. This award really fits her. I am so very happy for her and thank the RMISA for recognizing her accomplishments."

Korencan led a consistently excellent Utah performance throughout the season that resulted in a first-place finish in the RMISA Regular-Season Alpine Team standings. The Utes accumulated 1,785 points in the combined Alpine events, which was 143 points ahead of runner-up Denver. The Ute women's alpine skiers also took first place with 977 points, finishing 137 points ahead of Colorado. Utah's men's Alpine team finished in second among the RMISA Men's Alpine leaders with 808 points.

"This is a very noteworthy and well-deserved award for Jaka," Sweeney said. "I am proud that he received this recognition as he has put in countless hours of hard work to promote and support the athletes. The Alpine results this year under his leadership have been outstanding. Jaka is passionate and unselfish in his desire to see the Utah Ski Team excel on the race course as well as with academics and personal goals. It's extremely hard to find someone as well-balanced as Jaka and we are very happy having him onboard leading the charge."